


Beautiful

by notyourdreamwife



Series: The Shadow fix-it-verse [2]
Category: Guardians of Time - Marianne Curley
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Insecurity, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notyourdreamwife/pseuds/notyourdreamwife
Summary: Arkarian is apparently unaware of how attractive he is and Isabel is shocked. Pure tooth-rotting fluff. Contains spoilers for things coming up in my other work, The Shadow.
Relationships: Arkarian/Isabel Becket
Series: The Shadow fix-it-verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204190
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LenaLawlipop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenaLawlipop/gifts).



“You’re kidding me, right?” I ask, widening my eyes from shock and struggling to keep my mouth from hanging open. 

Arkarian looks up from the console he’s currently working at and frowns at me, apparently confused.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me, you know what!”

“Isabel, I’m afraid I really don’t.”

To his credit, at least he does look genuinely confused at the impact that his throwaway comment has had on me.

“Do you really think that you’re unattractive?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. 

I study him closely, trying to imagine a world in which Arkarian could be thought of anything other than stunningly handsome. Even in the cool, otherworldly glow of the Atlantean consoles that line the walls of his central chambers, his skin looks smooth and flawless, his violet eyes shining out at me, glinting in the lights like nebulas shimmering with stars. Although the room is dimly lit with the central sphere shut off, the shadows that throw themselves across his face serve only to highlight his sharp cheekbones and chiseled jawline. Yeah, he’s gorgeous, and frankly I’m offended that he could be so unaware of it. 

He shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other and looks away from me. I fancy that I can see a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.

“I didn’t quite say that…” he mumbles. 

“Yeah, but you _did_ say that you didn’t understand my attraction to you and that you were, and I quote, ‘strange looking’.”

“Isabel, I have blue hair and purple eyes,” he replies, exasperated. “Do you know many people with those features?”

“No,” I admit. “But that hardly makes you unattractive! If anything that adds to your whole mystique.”

“My mystique?” Arkarian asks dubiously. He frowns again and tilts his head to the side, like a curious bird. I stare back at him. How am I supposed to explain to my soulmate that I actually do, in fact, think that he’s handsome?

“You really don’t get it do you?” I ask incredulously.

“I can’t say that I do, no,” he confirms. His face flushes again briefly. “But really, Isabel, you don’t have to...”

“No, I want to,” I insist, crossing the room to him and wrapping my arms around his waist. Up close I see that he really is blushing, something that I don’t think I’ve actually seen before. I rest my chin on his chest and gaze up at him lovingly. “Arkarian I really think that you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t think that you’re at least a little bit hot.”

He chuckles awkwardly and runs a hand through his hair, which is hanging loose about his shoulders. “I believe that people are usually attracted to my winning personality,” he jokes.

“Yeah… no.” I shake my head. “Doubtful.”

His laugh this time is more genuine, and he wraps his arms around me too, giving me a squeeze. “I’m lucky,” he says simply, making it my turn to blush.

“Pfft, I’m not remotely interesting to look at,” I scoff. “It’s like you’re a peacock and I’m a pigeon.”

“Firstly - you are the most beautiful person that I have ever come across in my six hundred years. Secondly - a peacock? Is that what you think of me?” I worry for a moment that I’ve offended him but a quick glance at his expression tells me that he’s more amused, a smirk on his face.

“Only because of the blue and purple colour palette that you’ve got going on,” I hastily reply. “Not because I think you’re showy or anything.”

“Funnily enough, peacock comparisons are the exact reason that I try to avoid wearing green. Lord Alexandon used to insist that I wore this emerald green chiton that he purchased for me to his parties. I think it amused him.”

“Or he liked to show you off. Because you’re pretty.”

Arkarian sighs dramatically and leans down to rest his forehead against mine. His eyes totally consume my field of vision, and it’s easy to get lost in them, to just forget about the rest of the world. That is, if I were less stubborn.

“You’re sooooo handsome,” I croon.

Arkarian rolls his eyes and pulls away.

“And you’re beautiful,” he replies. “Nothing like a pigeon at all.” 

“That’s not true,” I retort. “I fucking love bread. Anyway, you’re avoiding the subject.”

“There’s very little to discuss.”

“I just don’t understand how you don’t get how extraordinarily good-looking you are,” I insist.

“Well you are my soulmate, Isabel. I think you may be a little bit biased.”

“Am not. What about Queen Brystianne and Lord Alexandon? They both clearly thought you were attractive too, and if I’m the best looking person you’re seen in six hundred years, think how many people they’ve seen in their thousands of years.”

“Or alternatively, think how small the dating pool is for people with life spans that exceed a century,” Arkarian counters. 

“Oh please, I’ve walked the street of Athens with you - people ogle you wherever you go!”

“I rather think that they’re staring because of my hair,” Arkarian chuckles. 

“Yeah, because they think you’re some sort of god. Because you’re so unbelievably-”

“Strange looking,” Arkarian cuts in.

I groan and shake my head. “Ok but what about before your hair and eyes changed colour? You were engaged! No-one, not even your fiancee, ever mentioned the fact that you look like a masterpiece painting?”

“No. Mostly people still just stared at me.”

“Because you’re pretty.”

“No, because I was over six foot tall in the fifteenth century. People were a lot smaller back then. I was the tallest man most people had ever seen.”

“Well I like that you’re tall, too. It’s really hot.”

“I like that you’re short. It’s cute.” He pats me gently on the head at this, teasing me. Arkarian is probably the only person alive who I would allow to make jokes about my height without fear of swift retaliation, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t skating on thin fucking ice. I shoot him a death-glare to make sure that he knows this. 

“Seriously though, Arkarian. You’re beautiful. And I’m not just saying that because I love you and you’re my soulmate. I thought it the first time I saw you, before I knew anything about you, and I see it in the faces of other people who look at you, too. I hate the idea that you think otherwise. You’re not ‘strange looking’, you’re one-of-a-kind, and I love that about you.” The words pour out of me with a tenderness that I didn’t think my lips could ever achieve.

Arkarian’s eyes search mine, his expression unreadable. 

“I love your eyes,” he says - quietly, finally. “They always remind me of the earth. Like rich soil ready to burst with plant-life. And your hair - sun-kissed and golden. The tan of your skin and the places where it looks bleached white in comparison, hidden under sleeves and straps. I love every inch of you. You’re not a pigeon, Isabel, you’re a goddess.”

He says the words with such sincerity it’s impossible to argue with him, even if I don’t understand how he could think such monumental thoughts about me. I’m just a regular girl from southern Australia, a bit of a tomboy and usually kind of scruffy-looking. How can someone who has lived for centuries, an exceptional life and an exceptional person to boot, possibly find me remarkable?

I reach one of my hands up to his face, and stroke the smooth skin I find there. Arkarian closes his eyes and leans into the palm of my hand, looking peaceful and content.

“I was thinking earlier,” I say tentatively, not used to bearing my soul in front of anyone. “That with the lights from the consoles blinking in the reflection of your eyes, that your eyes looked like a nebula. It was like you had a whole galaxy or something in your eyes.”

“Isabel…”

I hold my other hand up to stop him. “I know that galaxies and nebulas are different things. I just mean that… there is this otherworldly quality to you, and I only mean that as a good thing. I can’t believe you’re even real sometimes. I could look at you forever and never get bored. You’re beautiful. I mean it.”

Arkarian smiles at me, before leaning down to kiss me softly. I find it hard to pull away, but eventually we do, keeping our heads together and swaying gently on the spot. 

“Compromise?” Arkarian asks softly.

“Hm?”

“We accept that we are both beautiful people, and together we make a ridiculously stunning power couple.”

I laugh and kiss him again. “Deal.”


End file.
